


Someone You Know (one shot)

by JiniZ



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Detective Castiel, Gen, I fucked up, Serial Killer Castiel, Stripper Lisa Braeden, Stripper Pamela Barnes, but i ended up really liking this, i wrote the wrong thing, this is all there is, this is it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-20
Updated: 2016-06-20
Packaged: 2018-07-16 06:50:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7256767
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JiniZ/pseuds/JiniZ
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Detective Castiel Novak is a serial killer looking for his next victim. Lisa Braden fits the bill.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Someone You Know (one shot)

Detective Castiel Novak knows that his witness, Lisa Braeden, is scared. One of her coworkers, Pamela Barnes, was murdered the week before by a serial killer the papers are calling The Butcher. She correctly surmises that most of the details are being left out of the media in order to help the police find him before he strikes again. He thinks she probably doesn’t want to know the gory details anyway. 

Which is why he now sits in Lisa’s living room, about to go over any details she can remember from last week. She says she’s fairly certain that she’d given the police everything she knew, but Detective Novak wants to go over it again, not because of something Lisa might have forgotten, but for something  _ he _ may have forgotten.  _ It’ll help keep it fresh,  _ he’d told her. 

He puts on his most sympathetic and reassuring tone as she leads him to the sofa. “I appreciate your taking the time to talk to me, Ms. Braeden. Especially this late.” He knows  his voice is deep and gravelly and he comes across like just the kind of guy who would frequent Lisa’s club, what with his rumpled trench coat and all. “I’m sorry my partner couldn’t make it.”

Lisa’s nerves bubble to the surface at the mention of his partner. She had been reluctant to talk to the detective alone, but Castiel managed to convince her it was important to go over her story again. “Please, call me Lisa. I’m glad to help in any way I can.”

“I know this can’t be easy for you.” Novak says. It’s something he says to every single person he’s ever interviewed. He pauses before getting into the meat of the situation, ready to jot down her every observation in his small notepad. He tamps down the excitement blooming in his chest.  _ Not the time,  _ he thinks. “How long had you known Ms. Barnes?”

“A few years. We used to work together at...the club.” He thinks it’s hard for her to say the name of the place out loud. It’s a shit-hole. Always has been. 

It actually warms the cockles of his heart to know she worked at Slick Willie’s. It’s one of the seediest strip clubs in the city. She may even be up for some fun. “And which one was that?”

Her discomfort is actually endearing to him. “Sorry. I guess there’s more than one, isn’t there?”

Novak huffs a laugh. “There are five in this neighborhood alone.”

“Slick Willie’s over on 45th.” She can’t look at him as she says it. 

“Classy.” He mumbles under his breath. He hopes to provoke her. 

“What?”

His eyes go wide as he pretends to be embarrassed his comment was said aloud. “I’m sorry. I didn’t -”

Lisa smiles to reassure him. “It’s okay, Detective. There’s a reason I got out of there as soon as I could.”

“Still. I shouldn’t have said anything. I apologize.” He touches the back of his head and grabs a fistful of hair that makes him look contrite.

It works and she takes pity on him. “Apology accepted.” His face relaxes a bit. “I know that what I do isn’t to many people’s liking.” She says quietly.

“No, Ms. Braeden. What you do for a living is to  _ many  _ people’s liking. Otherwise there wouldn’t be a market for it.” Really, strippers are his most favorite activity these days. 

“True.”

Novak drops his hands to his lap, giving Lisa the illusion that he cares enough to lecture her. “Just stay away from the pimps and the drugs.” So, he’ll just give a small one. “I’ve seen too many girls go down that road and it never ends well.” Once again, he does is best to contain his excitement.

“I’ve only got a few months left before I hang it up.” She says brightly. 

_ As if,  _ Castiel thinks. “And then?”

Lisa straightens up a little, like she’s proud of what she’s done. “I’ll be finished up at the CIA and I’ll get an ‘honest’ job.” She even uses air quotes around  _ honest.  _

_ Well, that’s an interesting twist. A stripper joining the CIA.  _ “And what will you be doing there?”  He must not have covered his surprise as well as he thought because she corrects his assumption.

“Wrong CIA. The Culinary Institute of America. I’ll be a pastry chef when I’m done.” 

_ Of course.  _ “I’m glad you’re getting out of the business.” Novak’s smile is calming. He’s had years of practice perfecting it.

“Me, too.” 

They are quiet for a minute before Castiel says, “So, Pamela Barnes?”

Lisa fiddles with her hands and stares at them intently. “You never think it’s going to be someone you know, do you?”

“No. You never do.” Castiel clears his throat before continuing. “Can you tell me how close you and Ms. Barnes were?”  _ Like did you fuck? _ And that thought makes his dick twitch. Pamela was beautiful. Even with that tramp stamp that said “Jesse Forever.” Good think he got rid of that. 

“Yeah. We were pretty close. We’d go to lunch every few weeks to catch up, find out what was going on in our worlds.”

“And when was the last time you -”  _ fucked  _ “- saw her?”

“Last week. Tuesday. The day she….died.” Lisa swallows the lump in her throat, doing her best not to cry again.

“And where did you go?” He knows this, he knows all of it, but it’s always good to get confirmation. That’s just good police work.

“Just for coffee. There’s a little shop around the corner from her apartment she likes to go to.” She realizes the tense she used. “ _ Liked  _ to go to. She had an interview, so it was just a quick meet up.”

“And the shop? Do you remember the name?”  _ The Blue Goose.  _

“I can never remember it. It’s on 63rd. There’s a big chicken in the window?”

Novak nods. “It’s not a chicken. It’s a goose. The Blue Goose. My partner likes that place.”

“Right! The Blue Goose! I don’t know why I can’t remember it.” 

He hopes it’s the only thing she can’t remember. “Did Pamela say where her interview was?”

“It was just a temp agency. She was looking to make a few extra bucks.” Novak gives her a look signifying he’s well aware why Pamela needed the money. “I know what you’re thinking, and Pamela wasn’t into that.”

“Do you know why she needed extra money?”  _ And would you care to make any? _

“Does it matter?”

“All of it matters. I need a clear picture of what happened and where she was those last twenty-four hours so we can find this guy.”

Lisa sighs. “She was about two weeks away from getting evicted.  She was trying to pay the rent.  Look, you said it yourself Slick Willie’s isn’t exactly a classy place and the guys that go there –” She stops abruptly, not sure if she really should be saying anything. 

“Yes?”  _ Come one, say it. We’re all slime.  _

“Let’s just say they expect more for a dollar than most girls are willing to give.” The implication is clear. 

_ And  sometimes you just have to take it.  _ “Did you talk to Pamela after her appointment?”

“Yeah. She called to tell me she didn’t get it. She was desperate. I was worried she was going to do something she’d regret.”

“Prostitution?” He absolutely would have paid for her services. Pamela Barnes was a bit of a minx. As it was, he hadn’t needed to.

“I tried to talk her out of it.  I told her she could come stay on the couch.  We’d be cramped, but she’d be safe and we could work on getting her out of that place.”

“What did she say?”

“She said she’d think about it, and I was going to call her again in the morning.  She was killed that night.  It was the last time I talked to her.”

“Thank you for talking to me Ms. Braeden. I think that should cover it for now.” Castiel thinks he’s in the clear, but just in case….his mind starts to wander at what he would do to Lisa Braeden.

“Will you catch this guy?” She touches his arm lightly as he stands and tucks the pad and pen away. He cocks an eyebrow at the touch and she removes her hand quickly.

“We’re doing everything we can. Here. Take my card. It’s got my cell on it. If you think of anything, please call me. Day or night.”  _ Not that she’ll need it.  _

“Thank you, Detective.”

He needs to really sell this next part to show how much he cares. “Look. Why don’t you...take some time off. With this guy killing strippers, you just never know.”

“Seven. Pamela was his seventh, right? So much for being lucky.”

“Any time. Day or night.”

He starts towards the door but Lisa stops him. “Okay, this is weird, but...you wouldn’t want to go for coffee sometime, would you?” She fiddles with her hands again and points one foot on the floor. He’d think it were adorable if it weren’t completely pathetic.

“Are you asking me out?”

“Yes?”

“You’ve got my card.”

**Author's Note:**

> So, I wrote a horror play five+ years ago and decided to adapt it for the SPN Horror Bang. Well, instead of rereading the original, I just started writing. And then I realized I flipped the detectives and their scenes, so I have to start over again, but I really like how this was coming along. 
> 
> Also? My [Tumblr](http://www.trekchik.tumblr.com). I'm nice.


End file.
